Seeing Through A Glass Darkly: Innocence
by owlhero
Summary: "They didn't have much, only their innocence, hope, and family, but it was enough. Though all good things must come to an end."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Suite Life character names.**

**I would to thank Tiger002 for being my co-author, my mirror for ideas as well as my beta reader.**

Dust whirled up as the circular object was kicked through the patchy green grass and the browny-black top soil. The trees watched the spectacle of these inhabitants wasting precious time playing simple games when there were more important things to do, but those thoughts were far from the youth.

The blond haired boy shifted the ball left to right and back again. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth. His hair whisked in the cool morning air. His right foot pulled back and booted the ball past the defender and the goalie into the piles of leaves in between the two poles.

"Goal! Wahoo!"

The shout startled the winged creatures nearby to fear in flight. However it only brought a smile to another.

"Zack…every day you do this."

Zack looked at the speaker, his twin, Cody.

"So what? I need something to do or else I will get bored."

"Yeah but you ruined your school clothes."

Brown splattered his light blue pants and white shirt until they appeared polka-dotted, he kicked up a dust cloud that covered him head to toe.

Cody laughed as he watched his brother shake the dust from his outfit. As Zack finally gave up, figuring he couldn't get any cleaner, Cody threw him his books as the pair walked toward their school. They dodged the branches of the low hanging aduka tree. The grayish brown bark felt smooth to the touch. The branches spread out in all directions with weedlike efficiency, while the leaves replicated the branches. The ground beneath was soil only with the blackout conditions from the tree.

Saragossa beat down on them while their shadows raced ahead. The orange colored star always greeted the boys with its life giving fire while diverting from the faded yellow sky.

Shoes kicked up the throwaways of the coming harvest. The yellow-green stalk crunched to a pulp under so many footsteps.

They threw stones at three foot long, six limbed Lyrantis, Its brown-black furry body a potential winter hat. The boys laughed at its growling sound as it scurried into the underbush. Its four eyes turned in every direction for a sign of a threat.

The brothers stopped for a second and looked toward the fields on their left. A rainbow ocean of pollen waved to them as it flew towards the outskirts of town.

Both boys almost lost their footing as shoulders bumped them from behind. The twins swallowed their groans of annoyance.

"Oops, I did not see you there. You just blended into the scenery."

Twin eyes of thunder stared back at the boy, who just laughed it off.

"Really? Is that the best you can do? That's terrible."

The smile on his face only got larger with the outburst.

"Really John Tuttlemen! You arrogant little jerk who thinks he owns everything…"

Zack's eyes enlarged as he continued to listen to his twin's flare-up.

"…just because your cousin is the mayor. It does not give the right to push people around."

"What's a two bit seed boy like you going to do anything about it?" Iciness edged itself into the smile.

A touch of his shoulder by Zack cooled Cody's fire down.

"I knew you wouldn't do anything about it…. Oh don't be late for school."

With that, John Tuttlemen walked down the path. The sun's ray surrounded him in a glow while the loose aduka branches lowered themselves in his honor.

...

"Zachariah, how could you get that question wrong?"

Zack rolled his eyes as he heard the tone in his friend Max's voice.

"Well, Mackenzie, what about the time you tried to kick the soccer ball, missed and fell on your butt."

"That's low, Zack. You know I hate my full name. And didn't you move the ball away from me at the last second?"

"Besides we were like five then…." Zack's smile warded off some of the brown haired girl's fury.

Max shook her head.

"Things still haven't changed much since then."

Max's eyes stared around the courtyard as she leaned back slightly as she straightened her school clothes. Same color scheme as Zack but instead of buttons all the way down the front, she had a polo shirt on.

A couple hundred children milled around a pickup game of stickball. Feet touched bases of poles and large wood blocks while the batter moved of a branch bat in his grip. The batter's focus was the worn ball in the pitcher's hand as he looked for the sign.

Another group was swerving around the groups of nomad children as the soccer ball weaved in and out of the roots of legs.

Max saw Zack's pupils focus on a specific player but before she could say anything, two others joined the duo.

"Hey, Christopher what's going on?"

A bushy haired, brown eyed boy sat down next to her on the wooden picnic tables.

"Not too much. Dad's working his normal shift in the mines as usual. Mom's helping out with some projects to expand the town northward."

Max and Chris looked toward the White Mountains overshadowing the town's western half. Even though they were over 15 miles away from the town's outskirts, their tips reached almost into the heavens and provided a challenge to anyone include certain town developers.

"I know my mom's trying to help with the water supply and trying to figure new ways to improve the housing structures. Especially since what happened last winter with all the snow."

Chris shivered at the memory of the previous year.

"I remember the bodies of the families they found under the snow and their houses after they dug out. That blizzard lasted for a week. Being buried alive under four or five feet of snow. It gives me the creeps."

"You are not the only one." Max's sincerity and gentleness soothed Chris.

Both turned their head toward Cody who was standing a few feet away. Max smiled and she looked at his face. She walked over to him.

"You know, sometimes you the two of you really act like twins sometimes. Even though I know you guys try not to."

Cody looked lost at the comment. Max bit her lip before she could giggle.

"Zack had the same look a few minutes ago." The girl looked toward the aforementioned person.

"And still does with the same target as well."

Cody looked to his twin to see it was true.

"We had a…conversation with Tuttlemen earlier this morning on our way to school."

Max detected the brief hesitation but let it pass.

"He does get under your skin, doesn't he?"

Cody and Max turned to see Zack behind them with Chris at his shoulder.

All four looked toward the soccer game where they saw Johnny Tuttlemen making a fool out of his defender, blowing past him and leaving the unfortunate fellow in the dust.

"You know I heard a rumor about him…" All three faces turned to face Chris.

"Granted it could be from Tuttlemen. You know how he loves to shoot his mouth off about how well off his family is."

"We all know that. After all he acts like he was fed with a silver spoon and could fly to the next star system." Max's crack livened the mood.

"That's a little much even for him," Cody suggested.

"I happen to agree with Max but anyway we can get back to what Chris was saying please?" Zack's insertion quieted the group.

"Anyway I heard someone say Tuttleboy has some distant cousins on another colony. Cousins who happen to be very well off. Aristocrats from some colony closer to the core of the Empire. "

"So what? It doesn't mean anything here. Most families in this colony have been here since the first houses were built. I mean all four of our families were among the founders and you don't see us shooting our mouths about that?"

Max's excitement started to turn eyes toward the group but Cody tried to add reason the conversation.

"One big difference is we were brought up not to."

"I hate when you are right, Cody." Max spoke with neutrality.

Cody's face remained passive the whole time.

The group heard the bell and turned away from the target of aggravation to return their classes.

...

"Hey Mom!"

The sound of running children met Carey's ears and she beamed until she saw specifics.

Three wonderful children with only the wear of a single day on them and one child who looked he lived in dirt…

"Zackariah Martin, how many times have I told you not to wreck your clothes? They are supposed to last more than one day!"

She ignored the all-knowing smirk on her younger son's face as her oldest lowered his head and uncurled and recurled his fingers. A nervous reaction he had since he was able to walk and get into trouble.

She looked at the second pair looking exactly the part of two people wanting to be anywhere else but near a family quarrel.

"Max and Christopher, your parents are expecting you. Max, your mother mentioned needing your help with something in your house while Christopher, your dad is home and he mentioned about a trip to the market."

"Thanks Mrs. Martin. See you later" The responses faded as the pair ran down the street to their homes. Memories of four toddlers being chased by their parents pushing them on.

Reminiscences pushed to the side as she turned back to her progeny. Both on the same spot as before.

"Well since you won't listen to me, I guess that means you don't mind washing them, eh?"

"But…but Mom!"

"Mom nothing… Maybe next you will listen when I say something."

"Okay." Resigned fate ruled Zack's tone and he walked away. Meanwhile Carey sent a death glare to her youngest who deleted all humor from his face.

"Cody, you can help me with dinner."

Cody's face dropped to the ground as his mother handed him the baskets of vegetables.

…

"Hey, Dad!"

The father smiled at Cody standing in the kitchen. His hands surrounded by bowls filled with vegetables as he was cutting some carrots.

"Kurt, I see you are home a little late."

"I was helping the rest of the Builder's and Maintenance Association with the plans for the town hall. Especially since the city council received the new population data."

"It's not like we can run out of building materials."

"I know what you mean." Kurt looked around the house as he stared at the aduka wood grains of the window edging and the cabinetry. The few calluses on his hands testament to the hours put in making a building a home.

"Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. I just have to cook the chicken and the vegetables." She adjusted the temperature setting on the stove and looked at the ticking wall clock.

"That's fine." Kurt walked around and came behind Carey. His arms wrapped around his wife. "You look good."

"I am surrounded by heat, covered in sweat from a day's work and my hands have spices and potato shavings all over them. Beautiful does not fall into that category."

"Maybe not in your eyes, but in my eyes it makes me cherish even more when you are beautiful."

"As much as I enjoy this, if you want dinner on the table, you will have to let go of me."

"Oh well…" Kurt leaned to give a light kiss on Carey's cheek.

Kurt walked away then turned around.

"I'll check on the house in the meantime. I thought I saw some things that needed fixed."

Carey only nodded and saw a wide smile and glowing eyes on Cody's face.

"Yes?"

"Nothin'"

Cody put the small cutting knife down.

"Can I go outside until dinner?"

"Yes since you finished cutting all the stuff for the salad," Carey said after looking in the bowls, satisfied with her son's work.

Cody wiped his hands off then dashed off to follow his father out of the house.

...

Groaning could be heard far and wide from a boy suffering from a case of boredom as he was serving his punishment.

A dirty shirt in one hand and a light soapy brush in the other, both burning the aggravation in his mind while a washtub sat on a tree stump at his feet

"Need help?"

Zack looked up to see his twin watching as he tried to wash the dirt off his ruined clothes while wearing an old pair of work clothes. No expression on Cody's face.

"Not really." The air heard a gritting of an older brother's teeth.

Zack heard the crunching of grass and another shadow fell on the washtub.

"You might want to go a little softer on the brush or you make a hole in the shirt"

"Who are you mom!" Zack realized as soon as he said it he went too far. "Sorry about that. I guess I am little angry from earlier."

"That's fine. Where are your pants anyway?"

"Over there"

Zack looked to see Cody grab his polka-dotted spotted pants and walk over with an extra brush.

Cody saw the curious look his older twin was giving him.

"Unlike most siblings, who usually only care about themselves for the most part, I have a kind heart."

Zack waited to see if Cody was going to add something else which he did.

"Which is filled with guilt by the fact I almost laughed when Mom was yelling at you earlier. Besides if I don't help, you'll be out here all night."

The only sound was bristles on cotton until it was broken by one word.

"Thanks."

...

Zack's daydreams of full stomachs and absolute contentment evaporated with sounds of grinding and muttering.

His eyes opened to see his father messing with things in the living room. A number of tools were spread at his feet.

"What are you doing?"

Kurt jumped at the voice.

"I am installing the last part of what will be a holographic TV system."

"Excuse me?" Zack asked as if his father had just spoken in a foreign language.

Kurt smiled at his son's lost expression.

"Simply put Zack, it will allow us to view information and shows from interstellar communications network."

"The town has some access to right, right?"

"We have an emergency com station in town somewhere in case the colony is in danger and needs help. But we get most of our information about the outside from the traders that come through here."

"Is that because we are on the edge of the empire and have very little resources to give them?"

"I would say so, Zack. Our colony is barely surviving as it is now. As a result we need to know what's going on around us so we have an idea what people need."

"That's where the TV system comes in? What about Mom? She might mad about spending so much?"

"As for Mom, members of the town pitched in to buy it as a group. As a matter of fact, they decided to put of the tax money into a fund to help families buy their own viewing units. So there's a central receiver in the mayor's office that receives the signal and sends it out to the town. It was installed a couple days ago. Today is the day, they are going to turn it on and see if it works.

"What I am putting together are the holo emitters so we can what's being broadcasted from the com network. Its secondhand but it should do the job for us."

"I see you are already installing it, already? Having fun?"

Both males turned to their left to see Carey standing there. Her arms crossed as in total command of the room. But she had a serene expression on her face.

"As for your shocked looks, Max's mom mentioned about a rumor she heard during one of the meetings she attended. Alley told me about it and I kept my eye out for it. I was intrigued." Looks of nervousness crossed the audiences' faces.

"I admit I was little upset about the cost of having one until Alley mentioned about the benefits of such a things. Newer information on affairs of course, and it could also be a boon for schooling as well as farming, mining and everything else really. After a while, I came to like the idea."

Carey's eyes turned directly to his husband and the parts in his hands.

"How much did it cost us if I may ask?"

Kurt swallowed.

"About one and half's month's salary…"

Carey frowned.

"Okay… Next time, don't lie to me and say you are fixing the house when you are putting a personal transmitter on the roof. This is a pretty big change to our lives and I need to be in the loop for it."

Kurt's shoulders lifted as he realized the danger he missed.

"Sorry"

"I forgive you. Next time it might be different. Oh and thank Alley next time you see her, I don't think I would been so generous if I was blindsided with this."

"I'll see if there's something she needs repairing…"

Carey smiled.

"What about those emitters? Alley mentioned about how they work but I forgot."

Kurt refocused as his wife and son gathered around him.

"In short, the emitter would show images transmitted through the network. I had to connect this and the transmitter to the power grid so it would work."

"So it acts like the old library databases then?"

Kurt froze at his son's questions. The old databases in question were antiques of the colonization era. Barely functioning at all, they were a monument to what was lost since they landed.

"Yes," Kurt answered simply, not wanting to confuse his son with all the details.

"I'll go get Cody. He'll want to see this…"

Zack ran off and a door slammed shut. Quiet tinkering continued with the quiet sounds of bolts turning and the clipping as parts slipped into place.

"Done"

Kurt got up and stretched, looking at the three modules on the floor. Cubed shaped with little mirrors on the top. Each one a little bigger than two fists put together but connected by a dual metallic piece spacing each module over two feet apart.

Kurt frowned at the sight but his mind was made up. Especially since loud stomps signaled Zack had found his twin.

"Is it true? What Zack said?" Cody's voice was going a thousand miles a second while his smile would have lit the room by itself.

"Yes, yes it is. Just sit for a second while I turn it on."

Kurt checked the power cord going into the wall before flipping the switch.

Light flickered from the mirror like surfaces on the modules. Brief images of lines crossed the air in a square box. A scratching sound accompanied the broken images until the projector shut down without a sound.

"That's it…" Kurt turned on a pivot to see Zack covering his mouth.

"It seems to be something minor. Give me a few seconds to see if I missed a part."

A few minutes later…

"It turns out something was loose. Now let try this again."

Kurt flipped the switch again.

This time the light was solid.

A figure appeared in clothing sitting behind a table, her mouth was moving.

"_This is the INN, Good evening. This is Sonja Cory from Genghis._

_The Langstoy trade negotiations top today's new headlines…"_

The family listens as the woman continued to talk. Their eyes wide.

"…_Meanwhile Empire officials from the Agriculture ministry insist the next harvest will increase the food supply for the core and the outer colonies. They report that they anticipate the haul will bring 10 percent more than last year and have already put forward plans for more efficient use of the lands already under their control and ask other members to do the same."_

The woman's eyes locked onto the family as if she was speaking directly to them. The Martins sat and watched as the newscaster continued to go over the news headlines.

...

A cool breeze ran through the room through a cracked window.

Zack did not feel the chill on him as the comforter covered completely from head and toe.

The quietness was broken by the slight movements of his baby brother in the bunk below him. His slow breathing matched the crickets cheeping outside in the deep grass.

The familiar shadows covered the walls. Eternal companions from his life from a baby to a boy marching on the pathway to manhood.

He remembered old conversation with his parents about wanting his own room, only to hear the same refreshed comments about lack of space. He sighed in the graying darkness and shook off the tired problems of his life. Besides he had his family and a roof over his head. It could be worse…

Zack raised his head and saw another companion this night.

Freyr, the cloud covered moon of Zack's home planet, Vita Nova. Light flashed across the moon's atmosphere as if threatening to strike at the inhabitants below.

Zack could see the purple flashes in the clouds. Lightning they called it as he remembered from his textbooks. The moonlight took the whole sky, looming like a giant light in the sky. Zack felted comforted byit as a child of the night. He lowered his head back onto the pillow ready to meet sleepy dreams.

The woman on the news report (which they figured out what it was) rose from his mind. Zack smiled at the image. The woman was beautiful. Her smile warm, her eyes filled with trust. His mind sucked in what he learned during that glorious but brief time, the holoprojector was on. He and his brother begged his parents to let them stay to see more but they refused.

His eyes refused to stay open as he remembered the march to their rooms and the conversation the two had as they getting ready for bed.

His mind started to blank as he breathing started to slow to almost nothing. The last thought on the boy's how much was he going to learn from the device that he did not know before.

The question was wiped as he slipped into dreamland.

**Okay…explanation time. This is a total AU. I had this simmering for a while and I put dozens of hours into this. Forget all you know about the TV series beyond a few character traits. Nothing specific will matter or be mentioned from the TV series.**

**As for object description, I needed a frame of reference for myself and the readers so everyone could picture what it is. So even though I think of this as a separate universe from the series and things will be different, there will be some similarities for you guys to understand what I am talking about. As for the names themselves, some are completely random. Whatever my mind made up, I put in. So if you see some weird ones, that's why.**

**FYI: Chris is Tapeworm but he will not be using that name in this story at all.**

**Feel free to ask questions if confused. As always read and review.**

**Until next time….**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life characters, but I pretty much own everything else in the story**. **I would like to thank Tiger002 for betaing this chapter.**

The wind seemed restless in the red morning sun. It waited for something to happen to catch its interest to pass the time.

It caressed the man in the garden below whose face held the majesty of his position. But the strain as well. However the man cleared his mind as he stared at the miraculous plant before him. A gift from his father.

Its beautiful lime green leaves flared out to the twin star Mithra-Zi, the dominant objects in the sky. The lime green veins disrupted the masterpiece of the pedals. The bright yellow almost scared the man's eyes. Pink and orange ringed the yellow, giving the living fine art its name.

The man smiled as the tension released from his shoulders. His eyes closed in minute bliss while he basked in the warmth of Mithra-Zi. He was never alone, not even as a child. He learned to enjoy the little things when and wherever he could find them.

His hands reached toward the starburst plant at his feet. The cannon blast of iridescence connected him to his world with a touch of lime green keeping his feet and his mind on the ground.

His fingers felt wasted next to this prize of human sweat and patience.

The starburst's pollen wrapped itself around the man's robes, embracing him with its fine smell.

He turned around and walked down the stone path. The squared smooth stone stiffened under the impact. Taking a few more steps, he came upon a map of this world. His right hand grazed the carved globe on its black marble pedestal.

Rivers, valleys and mountains covered the sphere exactly matching the ones on Shai-ann itself. His tanned fingertips traced over the island where he would spend his summers as a boy. Memories of friendship and eventually romance faded out as footsteps approached him.

His mental guard reformed as he turned toward the newcomer. A person he knew so well. His shadow crossed the paralleled columns of identical spheres lining the colored pathway.

"So they need me now?" The man's voice was resigned.

"Yes, your Excellency, the Council requests your presence at the meeting. They wish to hear your thoughts on their plans."

He stared at the planetary spheres for a second before walking up the path back to the main part of the imperial palace. His duty waiting for him.

….

The bizac wood was soft and smooth. The deep brown grains meaningless for the young black-haired woman. But they provide a bit of color in her mind. Not that she truly cared. All trivial minutiae.

The dress in her hands riveted her. Its design of deep red matched their morning sun. The same red the royals wore on formal occasions of state. Instead of screaming power, this red shouted grace and beauty to the young woman's eyes. Its cut just right way at just the right spot. The neckline ran down with midnight black. The black walls stopping the red from drowning the body. It was pleasing to the eye while hiding enough for social grace.

She moved closer to the table covering it, the precious shade protecting her from the harsh rays of the mid morning sun. Her eyes devoted the majesty of color.

She wanted it badly. Real bad. Like a fever raging to overtake her. She looked at the price tag and moaned.

Too high. Even for the daughter of a rising military officer. She placed it back on the bizac wood table, mentally cursing the imperial tax code for clothing and her mixed upbringing.

Smiling politely to the merchant-woman, the young woman walked into the sparse crowd, blocking out the noise. The peasant children were laughing and dodging the human obstacle in their game of tag. The red soil splashed around on their sandaled feet. The smack of their stomps on the hard stone pathways echoed in the semi-quiet morning.

She wished she had more money. For the finer things in life any properly raised young woman of the empire. Melancholy danced with reality as the military brat walked toward her final destination.

The Imperial Academy.

…..

"Oops sorry about that, Commander "

"No problem, citizen. No harm done."

"Thank you for being so gracious, sir."

The military officer kept his mood as he moved on from the slight distraction. The nervous expression on the other man's face raising his spirits. He continued to stare at the back of the human disruption until he just move on.

His gray uniform jacket was pulled down to uniform correctness. After all, appearance was everything, right? His eyes swerved to the glass window. The sealed off looking glass presented a magnificent view of the capital planet below. While the local space faring traffic darted from the space station from which he stood on.

Next Horizon The station's name meant so much to so many. The beginning of further progress for the ascendant empire. Shattered barriers, the end of limitations, something to reach out and attempt to grasp in one's closed hand.

The object floating in cold space was just the start.

HIMS Bane.

Blue eyes looked upon this human excellence. Or at least when it was finished. Soon to be his imperial Majesty's most powerful starship. The plum command. With its craft launch bay sticking from the front and its sleek broadsides with its broadsides weapons batteries obliterating everything in its path, it would be a perfect representation of the empire's strength. At least when it was not surrounded by space scaffolding and space suited personnel crawling inside and out fusing the armor and closing up open compartments and making it look like a ship instead of a floating pile of metal.

Especially when they were rumors of whom needed to be told that. Rumors of people who refused to accept the empire's good fortune. Its willingness to expand its reach. … rumors that held no truth of course.

The defender of the state's eyes narrowed as the dual star's rays glistened upon the spine of the Bane. The empire's mighty symbol reflecting back upon him. One red planet in the center of the icon surrounded by silver wings with curved tips and a black inked Bane splitting the image in half. The same image occupied a spot on his uniform's left shoulder, opposite the discomforting emptiness on his right shoulder, which held witness to the name of his last starship command.

Well not the final witness…

The man touched his cheek for the umpteenth time. It became practice, maybe an obsession for him. Especially when he thought about when that damned central computer lost control of the power grid control system and the panel he was looking at blew up in his face. His own screams reached his ears as his eyes focused on the sparks burning through his corneas. Dim babbling was all his own mind could give him beyond the searing pain before black faded his sight.

The man pushed that thought away and clenched his hand into a fist as he forced the impulse down.

His attention zeroed on upon his right cheek. There was no physical scar. Not with the miraculous medical tech available at the hands of military personnel. Like it was from the hand of the gods.

The technology seemed almost unnatural with its ability to copy a person's DNA to assist in the healing and process and replicate skin, blood and even bones to help. The doctors stitch, inject or piece together replacement skin with no rejection, just what a person's body recognized as its own but in reality wasn't. Still it needed time and he had a ton of it. Now He could not tell which he was born with and what appeared out of a machine as a result of a tissue sample. It was seamless….

A sound of conversation pulled his attention away from his thoughts.

"Daddy, could have that toy, please?"

Remember what I said, Sanja? You can have it at your next foundation day, okay?" The girl's longing disappeared as the question triggered her memory.

"Yes, Daddy." Her father smiled at her and patted her head and they both walked down a passageway.

After giving a glance to the building slip holding the Bane one last time, the former CO walked to the sea of life forms as he traveled toward his destination.

….

The swish of the door pulled the crowd into the transport but the human crawl bored the Commander to no end, not even his strong will prevented him from letting his mind wander. His hands glanced over the jacket seals, his name tag and his ribbons and the standard black slash crossing from right shoulder to his jacket's bottom left.

Light flashed from his right side and before instinct took over, reality did. It was not another explosion but a splash of color. Old creases thought to be disappeared, re-emerged.

A scowl failed to prune the imagery of the woman staring into his eyes. Their hexing glance on human biology. Her twists, swirls and flips heart stopping as the skin showing shredded brain cells.

But the human train moved forward and the hologram fell apart as the commander moved away from the interaction of the halogram.

….

He did not even notice the slight vibrations of the transport as its decent impacted upon the wind currents and cloud bursts. Even the wide gap given him by the other occupants did not faze him. But anyone who looked at him from the outside only saw a regular naval officer sitting down with a plain expression on his face and blank eyes. But it was not true. If only they see beyond the mask he wore.

The clouds broke and red rays bathed the transport, a reddish glum showering the passengers. Music piped in from the speaker. The chorus announced the vehicle's arrival to the planet. The mixture of drums, sitar, and flute calming the inhabitants.

Military eyes stared down at the spectacle below. Massive construction projects shot towers in the sky, their broken shadows hiding the sea of the squatted houses below. The sea reached up within hundreds of meters of the doorsteps. The beaches were deserted in the early fall weather even with green ocean tempting.

The Imperial Palace and its gardens spread out below them. The transport cut a wide path around it to avoid being shot down. The structure spread out with its pointed roofs sliding down all four sides and spikes jutting out from the edge, scattering the shadows underneath. The beige color fading under the red glare as wide L shaped corridors broke off from a center column.

Walls shuttered the Palace from the outside abut greenery could be seen spreading into every nook and crack as almost if the building were made with plants in the foundation as the shuttle decelerated to land.

The music died with the flute and sitar fighting it out till the end as the dust picked up as the craft's struts impacted on the ground. The hatch opened and the crowd squirmed around the sitting commander and out of the craft. The last occupant, one lone commander of the navy, walked out into ruby red sunlight and almost blended into the late morning crowds of the capital city.

**Okay, a little mysterious here. I know its been QUITE a while, hasn't it? That stupid dress was the one part that destroyed the mental block on this. Yes that's right a dress. Hopefully we are rolling again on this.**

**As for the piece of music during the shuttle sequence, trying listening to Mosane Pi from E.S. Posthumus's Cartographer (2008) album. Its where I got the music description and gives a general idea on the music I might have for this story.**

**As always, please read and review, thanks. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Suite Life character names.**

**Thanks for tiger002 for betaing this.**

"Damn bird, waking me up at the crack of dawn! Just when I wanted to sleep in." Zack threw the covers off his body as Cody's smiling face watched.

"You can't blame the Zaires bird for doing its job." The smile slipped from his face as he started to cover the ear facing the window. The high pitch squawking generated a grimace from the younger brother. "Although I wish it would not screech toward _our_ house and chosen to have _my_ bed under the window."

"Well I could do something about that…" Zack dropped off but his right hand became a gun. His twin realized his intention.

"If you kill it, Mom will kill you."

Zack backed off. "I was just kidding although I wish we could somewhat change that squawking into something nice…"

Cody decided not to answer and the pair started to change out of their nightclothes. Only to be interrupted…

"Good, you're both awake. I need to talk to you." Both boys blushed as their bedroom door swung open and their mom entered without hesitation.

"Mom, we're getting dressed!" Carey stared at the sight of her twin sons in their natural state and simply shrugged.

"It's not like I haven't seen it all before…." Shirts and pants were grabbed in a breakneck pace. " When I bathed you. Or I changed you…" Mom was cut off.

"Mom, we're babies anymore…" Zack shouted with much dignity as possible while blushing and struggling to pull on his pants. Bouncing up and down on one leg, trying to push his leg through the other pant leg but he lost his balance and going splat onto the carpet, his legs sticking up in the air in full view of mother and brother.

Both Carey and Cody tried to keep straight faces as they looked at Zack's interpretation of a helpless creature. Cody all the while froze with his shirt buttoned up with his pant less legs holding him up with Zack's head touching his toes. Carey looked as if she was going to say something. Then changed her mind as Zack finally shoved the other leg through and forced the remains of his lower half into the pants. He stared death into Carey and his twin and he got up and snapped up his shirt from the ground.

Your father needs your help with some chores…" Cody looked from his half in-half out pants attempt ready to argue but Carey stopped him. The prospects of the same thing happening twice humorous. Cody looked over at Zack who was being methodical in covering himself up with clothes.

"You two have to help him. The faster you do that, the faster you can onto other things." Cody looked at his mother than back at his brother.

"Okay"

"Good. Hurry up and I will make you breakfast" Carey closed the door and left her sons alone to finish.

…..

"I still think that bird has to go…" Cody stayed quiet as he listened to his brother's venting. A constant release for the last five minutes since they left the house and walked along the main road of the town.

"…I do even need a gun, just whack it in the back of the head and bury it. No one will ever know…" Zack missed his twin's mortified expression.

"Oh I'd think they'll notice pretty quickly when the sun rises and start searching for it. Don't ask me why but Mom and the rest of the planters are paranoid about that bird. They take it as a symbol. Almost religious…" Cody shook his head confused.

"That's almost funny considering- "

Cody finished the thought, "Considering we don't have a dominant religion here. Or official opinion on it." The boys looked around at the unheard of quiet street. There were wild critters dashing into their hiding places at the sound of footsteps, but the boys ignored them, except for the flock of locutis birds who soared over their ducked heads. The wave of deep blue feathers spotted with smudgy green flew toward the yellow destroying the green in the morning sky.

Finally the boys arrived at their destination. Small children bobbed in and out behind fences, aduka trees, the twins soon joining them.

"How the little squirts get up so early?" Zack wondered out loud.

"Well Zack it is past mid-morning so it's not unreasonable for them to be up especially when there's no school today." Zack looked at the sun and saw its position in the morning sky. Just by its height, he could tell Cody was right.

"Hey boys over here" The twins looked up to see their father waving at them. They waved back, just barely missed hitting a pair of kids chasing each other. Zack lowered his voice and leaned in toward his brother.

"You know what happened this morning...never happened. Got it?" Cody pushed his memory aside and kept a straight face.

"Gotcha..." They walked up to their father who was talking a woman they recognized instantly.

"Hello Mrs. Montgomery…"

The woman smiled at the two boys. "It's a surprise to see you two up so early."

"Yeah well, Mom said Dad might need some help…" Cody admitted with a shrug. Alley Montgomery laughed.

"Well your mother can be forceful when she has to be," Kurt said.

"You're not kidding. Sometimes I wonder she acquired some vicious animal's personality along the way."

Kurt scanned Alley's house for a brief second. The design was practically the same from his own. One floor, rectangular with windows on all four sides and two doors with a smokestack sticking out of the roof for a fireplace. Standard design for the whole colony.

"Let's get this done you two. The sooner the better. There's some things I have to do in the shop…"

Alley looked at the three males. "I'll go fix lunch for you guys for later on. I might as well see if Mackanzie is up yet well. Maybe she can help…" Kurt turns toward his sons as Alley walks back into her house. They are smirking knowingly and Kurt knew why.

"And no this is not blackmail…" The smirks enlarged themselves as the boys' remembrance of their father under the heel of their mother with the holo equipment in front of him found itself in their minds. "…Its charity. Besides you know she has difficulty doing things around the house since her husband passed."

The humor died as the boys remembered Max's father trying to protect the town by assisting in barricading the river from flooding one night. He was on the wrong of the artificial wall when he slipped and fell into the raging river. The life blood of the community took one of their own…His body was never found…

"…So…" The melancholy retreated from their father's deep tone. "We are here to fix things up for her." Kurt looked at his youngest. "Cody, I need to cut the Aduka tree roots back. They are getting a little to close the foundation for my liking. If we let it just keep growing, it could be disaster later on."

Cody knew what he meant since all the houses in the colony main portion were made from the aduka tree. They made wonderful construction material with their rapid regrowth cycles. But containing them was an almost daily backbreaking chore.

Cody accepted the ax from his father's hands as Zack looked dumbfounded.

"Why is he doing that? What am I doing?" Kurt knew Zack's lightly mocking tone when he heard it. He decided to step on it.

"Because Zachariah…" The boy flinched at his father's hardened tone. "I need you to help me with the roof. It's a little loose in some places plus there's bound to be some holes in after the last storm. If we don't do a thing about it, there might be trouble. Understood?" His oldest nodded.

"Good…let's get started.

….

"It's nice of you guys to help fix my house…" Cody shrugged at Max's compliment but she was not finished. "…even I have a feeling your mom sort of forced you into it." Cody's caught expression forced the girl to laugh.

"I mean I know you two are not the laziest boys to be around but you are not the most active either when it comes to manual labor. I mean you are reluctant to help with the harvest. Even if it mandatory to help."

"Well not everyone. That stooge Tuttleman somehow sneaks his way around the requirement," Zack said sliding into the conversation.

Well that's just…luck," Max admitted quickly.

"May he die a horrible death…."

"Zack!" The older brother steamrolled his twin's words.

"… After eternal embarrassment and loss of all his money and be left in nothing but rags."

"I'm sorry he's been really strange today after that stupid bird woke him up again." Cody's apology met a bursting Mackenzie trying to hold her laughter.

"It's alright…that bird's ancient. I am surprised it hasn't dropped dead yet. Or been shot." Zack jumped in at Max's line.

"Where's my pistol? I'll take care of it." Zack turned on a dime but his human conscience, Cody, stopped him.

Not unless you don't want to see the next creation day.." Zack turned back around.

"I was just kidding…Jeez."

"Death is a very serious thing, Zack. It's nothing to laugh about." Zack looked past his brother towards the rows of standing stones behind him. The town cemetery. But Zack's eyes instantly connected with the centerpiece of the last resting place. Past the few mounds that still showed shoveled ground.

Its stone edifice gleamed the sun. The shovel digging its way into the dirt, lifting the stones out of the way. A plant stalk found its roots in the hole.

Zack stared into his brother's eyes as he remembered the artwork's significance.

"Yeah Cody. We've seen enough of it already." Max watched Cody accept his brother's apology with grace and the threesome walked toward the edge of town.

….

"Hi, Mrs. Micheals, how are you doing?" The woman looked up at the three friends as she stared at reams of paper being held down on the table by blocks. The loose paper edges fluttering in the wind.

"Just fine you three, just dandy." The woman bit down on her lip.

"Working on the town's expansion?" Abigail Micheals quickly nodded to Cody's question.

"But it's not going as smoothly as I'd like I am afraid. It's actually going way slower than I'd like to be honest." She looked up and saw the questions in the teens' faces.

"There are issues…." Her audience waited. "Obviously you know how hard it is to maintain our town, right?"

"Obviously" Cody elbowed his brother who shrugged. Abigail continued.

"Well first we have to deal with all the fencing around the town." The eight foot fence stood behind them. Its logs and supports a monument to sweat, blood and sacrifice. Each section of trunks stretching ten feet across. Even they could see vines and weeds crisscrossing the supports in random places.

"Even after we deal with the fencing, there's still any wild animals out there that could injure or kill any people involved." The echoes of the wild reached their ears with its chirping, rustling, and crackling.

Or the unknown number of plants we still have not discovered yet nor know the effects of."

"Sounds dangerous to me." Abigail Micheals turned toward Mackenzie but said nothing. But her memory refused to die shoving pictures of a stormy night into her mind. It never touched her face as her voice stayed calm.

"Life is not without risks Max. Without it, there can't be real progress. And now we might need the land for farming or housing or even the possibility of new permanent residents." Her last words drew surprise from the kids.

"It's unlikely but with access to the Imperial News Network, it's something we have to consider in the future, The opportunity cannot be overlooked if we can somehow get regular access to Imperial territory, not just the occasional freighter that comes by once a month or so."

"Could the weather play a part in your plans?" Abigail smiled at Cody's question.

"It could fall apart..." Abigail looks at the papers in front of her. "We have to decide if we want to start this or wait till the spring. Especially with the harvest and the festival approaching."

Smiles crossed all the faces as the yearly event was mentioned.

"Oh that reminds me, Christopher's still messing with the drawing of his, so I'm not sure if he'll be around today."

"We understand how Chris gets sometimes. He's always a little different when it comes to his drawings and things."

"Try cleaning up when he leaves his materials around the house." Abigail shared a smile with Max until she saw the sun was in its zenith.

Excuse me, but I have to go to a meeting about this to see if it's favorable. Be safe." The trio watched as Abigail hurried toward the center of town.

"You know I am going to stay here for a while and watch, okay?" Cody and Max did not argue with Zack and the pair walked toward the fields.

...

"Do you think its fine to leave Zack by himself so close to the barrier?" The pair walked past the main line for the field irrigation system.

"Max, if I worried about every little thing Zack I would be an old man of 20." Max laughed at the mental image. "Besides I have to trust him most of the time; he's my brother.

Max said nothing but watched the workers pick the fields for fruits and vegetables while others checked sick or dead plants, or cutting branches examining stock for feasting insects under the glaring sun. Max looked around for Cody, only to find him near a wading pool. She sat on the ground while Cody was kneeling, throwing water on his face.

"It sure is hot." Cody unbuttoned his shirt completely while finding his spot next to Max as they watched the kids scurry around the makeshift pool.

"You're not kidding" Max collapsed under the shade of an overhanging tree. "The shade is wonderful."

"The water feels great too." Max started to response until she felt water on her face and sat up, shock on her face.

Cody only grinned, his shirt swinging in the light breeze..

"You looked hot."

Max stopped her rebuttal when she realized the truth. The shirt and the pants she wore were making her hot. Oven temperature hot. Granted it was better than the dresses she had to wear on occasion. But she would have killed to wear the shorts Cody wore. But it was not right for girls to wear that. But it did not make her any less annoyed as she melted inside her clothes either. So instead unbuttoned her shirt as much as possible, rolled her pant legs and poked her feet into the water. A temporary reprieve.

"Better?" Cody asked as Max's shaded head looked at him as her arm swatted him.

"A little."

"Your clothes are making me sweat."

"Thanks for mentioning the obvious. I hate you for wearing shorts tight now. I wish I could change out of these clothes right now."

Cody leaned in, whispering. "What's stopping you?" Max's eyes narrowed at Cody's plain question. No undertone.

"Well I'm not five anymore and neither are you!" Hushed tones still held her shock but Cody only shrugged.

"And I doubt the adults would bat an eye over you taking a shirt off in this sweltering heat. Especially with this whole place knows our history, Mackenzie."

Max stopped and looked at the little ones splashing around the pool. The water leaking from one of the secondary pipes, Usually it would be fixed, but with the hot weather and the river being a short distance, the water would return to its source and the kids could have their fun.

"Max the four of us have seen each other in every situation possible" Max knew he was right. They grew up and got into trouble together, went to school together. Even had the occasional metal tub together...when they were younger, of course. Max watched the children continuing their rumpus unawares.

"I know Cody, but I can't." Cody accepted it.

"No problem, it was just a suggestion."

Max looked at him suspiciously as she stood at the water's edge, Cody across from her.

"What?"

"Nothing" Max replied to Cody's inquiry.

"Well the only way to cool you down is this..." Max started to ask until water flew into her face, She wiped her eyes clear only to see Cody with his tongue sticking out and his hand in the water.

"What was that..." Another wave of water impacted. His smile mocked her. She put her arms in front of her face to block the spray as she moved toward Cody. The barrage stopped and lowered her arms to see her attacker at ease.

"Sometimes, you're so like Zack." She smiled innocently. Cody hesitated.

Max leapt at him, her arms around his middle and her head against his chest. Max's momentum forced the two of them to flop into the water. The younger children scattering to avoid being crushed by the bigger kids. Max rolled off Cody to his right as the water returned as they spat it out while regaining their minds.

"I deserved that...thanks." Cody rose and pulled Max out of the water. She tried to unstick her clothes from her skin. Cody let his be. The pair walked out of the water, away from tiny staring eyes. Cody laughed as Max stared at him.

"You know, this reminds me of that festival day where all of us came home covered in mud."

"I remember that. I swore Mom was going to kill me. Dad..." Cody waited for her to continue, her voice lower. "Dad only shook his head. I must have had three baths that night. and we had to get rid of the clothes. I think we burned them."

Cody chuckled. "Mom was so furious, she turned purple. I never want to hear her voice like that again. You ready for this year's?"

Considering we are the center of attention? Yeah it's just one big party for reaching thirteen."

"Let's get back to town. At least in this heat we will dry quickly."

Cody moved forward only for Max to grab his leg out from under him, causing him to fall back into the wading pool for a second time, the culprit running away.

...

"This is easily the worst idea I've ever had." Zack said to himself as he waded deeper into the wild. Waded was correct considering Zack had to fight vines and the undergrowth.

"I guess I now know how hard it was for the first settlers to do this." His struggles as he forced his way into the unknown grew worse.

He thought about his (idiotic) decision to slide between two of the logs to get by, remembering the tight squeeze considering his thirteen year old hand could not reach halfway around one of them. Then there was the more than one foot gap between each log to prevent large animals from getting through. His shirt sleeve ripped from getting snagged on a loose branch.

And to think he decided to start off without a pistol or any sort of firearm. Granted his pistol was supposed to stay in its perch when not in use and to be used only when adults were around him. Even then, he had to somehow sneak it past his mom and probably dad as well and who knows how many others just to get it to this point. Needlessly to say that part was almost impossible. They grew up around weapons and anyone could recognize the imprint of it in his pocket, so he'd be caught for sure

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

Zack wiped his brow and pulled at his shirt glued to his skin.

"Maybe I should go back. I mean I'm still close enough to town where I might be to sneak back unnoticed." Zack paused as he decided then turned around, only tp fall flat on his face.

Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, and spitting out the foliage, he rose to his feet, gave one look at his shirt and shrugged. He was covered in dirt, bugs and grass.

Zack attempted to retrace his path. The problem was he lost all track time. He had a hard time finding the sun with the leafy canopy only allowing the glare through. Light and shadow crossed one another in front of him. The humidity pulled Zack's feet into the ground. He stopped and leaned against a tree. The air around him felt heavy and claustrophobic. Worry crept into his mind, He knew he to find safety or water first. The heat was almost too much for him. A haze fell over his eyes. Survival pushed him forward, trudging through vines, weeds and tree stumps.

Splashing snapped through his fog. Zack looked down to see his feet in a small stream he had almost completely missed. He paused only to wonder if it was safe to use but his feet were already wonderfully soaking in it, so...

A desperate collapse into the water drowned out the thought.

It was cool and refreshing. His mind cleared.

"Okay, time to follow this back home. It should to the river eventually."

The water dripping from his head felt good, but a nice long shower would be even better right now.

A flower caught his attention next to the stream. It was deep green with matching stems and leaves. It yellow petals were speckled with blue and purple. It was pretty. Except for the huge bulbus in the center which distorted the whole thing.

"This maybe something someone back home might want to look at. I wonder if I should bring it back or not." Zack leaned closer to the plant.

When suddenly the bulb opened, revealing a sharp needle-like object in the center...

"What the..." Zack's words died as numbness swamped his body as he pulled the needle from his neck.

"Or not" The needle still in his hand, Zachariah Martin fell backward onto the ground. His mind silent to the rustling stream next his ear.

**Interesting huh? Please tell me what think about this little world I have developed. Max and Cody's scene can be taken in so many ways, don't you think? Please read and review. Thanks.**

**Until next time**


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